Indie Squid Kid

From Octophant.us:

In 1933 a bathysphere expedition intended to break the world record for ocean descent was lost under mysterious circumstances. The cause of the disaster was never determined and no three-toed sloth was ever put in command of a bathysphere again.

Hand-printed edition of 70. Signed and numbered.

This print was 11″ x 23″ and only cost $20, but, tragically, it is sold out (at least at the time of this writing).

Phineas’ site has many more pieces of cephalopod-themed art, and some are still available! Visit Octophant.us to find out more.

Here we have another of this year’s birthday presents, and I’ll be posting a full review eventually. China Miéville crafts staggeringly original and brilliantly twisted fantasy stories, and, so far, Kraken is continuing this trend.

The Story So Far: Billy Harrow is a curator (an expert mollusc preparator) at London’s Darwin Centre. When he discovers that the museum’s prize Architeuthis specimen has mysteriously vanished, Billy finds himself thrown into a secret world of myth and magic where a cult of squid worshipers are just one of many factions trying to own the impending apocalypse.

This was a birthday present this year from my wife. I don’t typically wear belt buckles but, clearly, I need to start…at least on special occasions. As soon as my thumb heals enough to allow me to operate a belt again, I’ll be taking it for a spin.

Ryn picked this up at Light Years, a small local chain that specializes in jewelry and quirky gifts, but you can buy it directly from FluffyCo.

“Squid Attack” is described thusly…

Resin-coated digital print, set in a antiqued nickel tone round-cornered metal buckle. Standard sized to fit most belt leathers. Made with Neves in Oklahoma City. About 3 x 2”. $24

John says:

So, I have a friend who loves squid. She also loves her del Sol which recently needed some bodywork. When talking about how much she loves her car she mentioned it would only be better if it had a giant squid on it. Her husband and her brother-in-law latched on to this and decided to make it happen.

Thanks John!

Update: The del Squid has its own website. Check it out!

Southern Rail is a restaurant smack dab in the middle of Carrboro, North Carolina. It is built in and between three converted train cars, and it is located right next to an active rail line. As you might expect, much of the decor is railroad-themed, which is why it’s so surprising to come face-to-face with a mural depicting a diver locked in mortal combat with a giant squid! The mural adorns a wall of the narrow corridor in one of the converted cars (you’ll see it on the way to the restroom)…so narrow that it was pretty much impossible to get a good shot of the entire thing.

While Giant Squid is not on the menu, they do serve the most delicious tater tots known to Man and Mollusc alike.

Southern Rail Restaurant and Bar
201-C East Main Street
Carrboro, North Carolina

©Dark Horse Comics

This is a panel detail from the mini-series Abe Sapien: The Drowning (Feburary-June, 2008), written by Mike Mignola with art by Jason Shawn Alexander. (Read a plot synopsis here.)

Abe Sapien is a central character from Mignola’s Hellboy comic and its subsequent spin-off title B.P.R.D.. He was originally a Victorian scientist named Langdon Everett Caull, a member of an occult society that revered the Babylonian deity Oannes. Caull was accidentally transformed into a fish man (”icthyo sapien”) in an arcane ritual gone terribly wrong. His comatose body was placed in a tube of water and sealed up beneath a Washington D.C. hospital at the outbreak of the Civil War. He remained in a state of suspended animation until being discovered in 1979. Having no memory of his previous life or identity, he adopted the name “Abraham Sapien” and was taken in by the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Abe would eventually become a top B.P.R.D. field agent and learn the secrets of his mysterious past.

To close out Plush Week, here is, hands down, the coolest plush cephalopod in my collection…maybe the coolest plush cephalopod EVER MADE. Measuring over two and half feet long, Wild Republic’s Gaint Squid dominates the toy box. This awseomely anatomically accurate Architeuthis (although the tag claims it to be simply a “Squid”) was produced in 2005. I picked mine up from a vendor at Dragon*Con a few years back, but it is still available online. For example, Amazon.com.

In addition to its overall size, this toy has many other impressive details. It’s eyes are nearly two inches in diameter, it has a ventral siphon, and there is a well-defined collar separating the head from the mantle. If you part the fuzzy arms and tentacles, you will find a pointy black beak. The only thing this squid is missing are the suckers.

A week ago on Father’s Day, I said I would reveal the outcome of Kid Indie Squid Kid’s encounter with the plush Architeuthis. And the winner is…

Kid Indie Squid Kid clearly had the upper hand (or tentacle, as the case may be me) in this battle. Although he seems to have enlisted the help of a certain ursine ally.

After a long day with Daddy (and Mommy too!) at the science museum, Kid Indie Squid Kid returns to find his plush Architeuthis is running amok in his room!

Oh noes! How will this titanic stuggle end? Stay tuned to Plush Week to find out!

I designed this shirt a few years back on Spreadshirt.com. By “designed” I, of course, mean “selected a font,” but since I’m not an artist, this is about a good as it gets. (I also took this picture of myself earlier today, and this was, sadly, the best one of the bunch.)

I don’t know if this shirt is Meta, Ironic, Ironically Meta, or Funny Because It’s True. (Or maybe it’s just really Dumb, but that’s OK, I still find it amusing.)

“My other shirt…” is one of several such “designs” for sale in the Random Signal Spreadshirt store, which I set up so that I could offer some merchandise related to my podcast. There you can get this and other shirts emblazoned with marginally witty pseudo-memes such as “Go Eagle Go!” and “Totally Airwolf.”

Incidentally, the Random Signal podcast is five years old this month! I posted a brand new episode last night, and it includes new music by Merge Records artists Let’s Wrestle and Telekinesis, a song about cyborgs by Jonathan Coltoun, and a song about vampires by The Magnetic Fields. The talky bits include discussion of the HBO series True Blood, MRIs, Kraken Rum, and a special message to British Petrolium. Download the show, and if you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes. It’s free!

Today’s shirt is avaialable in Giant Squid Red for $17.50. The back reads “www.randomsignal.com”. Buy it from Spreadshirt.com (I might even make a little bit of money from it!)

Giant squid, originally uploaded by Max Sparber.

Max says, “An occasional hobby of mine is converting two-dimensional illustrations into 3D graphics. These can be seen using the traditional red/cyan glasses.”

Avatar, eat your heart out!